Using Awards Lists as a RA Tool: Lambda Literary Edition

This is part of my ongoing series on using Awards Lists as a RA tool. Click here for all posts in the series in reverse chronological order. Click here for the first post which outlines the details how to use awards lists as a RA tool.

What is Lambda Literary? From their site: 

For over 30 years, Lambda Literary has championed LGBTQ books and authors. No other organization in the world serves LGBTQ writers and readers more comprehensively than Lambda Literary. We believe that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer literature is fundamental to the preservation of our culture, and that LGBTQ lives are affirmed when our stories are written, published, and read.

To kick off Pride month, these prestigious  awards were announced in a virtual  ceremony. Click here to see the winners and the acceptance speeches.

This year's list of winners is filled with titles that most public libraries already have, but there are still plenty more you probably are less familiar with and should consider adding to your collections now. It is nice to see more awareness BEFORE the awards come out for LGBTQ titles in all formats and genres. This list used  to be one of the only places I could find titles to add to my collection because the winners and nominees were judged to be among the best. Reviews were harder to find back then

If you are less familiar with LGBTQ titles that will work for a general public library audience, Lambda Literary is the resource to start educating yourself.

Click here to see the full list of  2020 nominees. And click here to access the database of past nominees and winners. But also poke around the general site to learn more about LGBTQ literature in general.

On a personal note, I was very excited to see Patsy by Nicole Denis-Benn win for Lesbian Fiction and In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado win for LGBTQ Nonfiction as both were on my list of the best books I read all last year. Both are titles I still find myself thinking about and suggesting frequently.

Finally, while Pride month is a great time to actively promote your LGBTQ collections, please do not ONLY put out LGBTQ titles during June. Every list and every display you make should always have an inclusive list of options. No less than 30% of any list or display should represent voices other than white, heteronormative, abled bodied creators. Every. Single. One. And 30% is the bare minimum.

I loved two of the winners last year and I am white and straight, even though neither of those authors were either. That is because I enjoyed the titles for their appeal-- the way the story was told- not because  of the sexuality of the characters or the author. I didn't NOT like them because of the sexuality, but if  I didn't like the way these authors told their stories, I wouldn't have liked any part of them.

Stop thinking only LGBTQ readers want LGBTQ books. Stop thinking only black readers want black books. Try one of these LGBTQ books or another title by or about someone who is NOT the same as you to see for  yourself. But use the appeal factors of how the story is told to find the title. If you like Romance and read a diverse Horror title, you will probably not like it, but that is because it is the wrong genre. But if you want relationship fiction and you try Patsy, I think you will like it.